Terrain of Essence

Effect

The Terrain of Essence acts as a transformational catalyst to inspire positive change. Each gesture affects another stimulating confidence as we grow. Through traversing the terrain of our egos identity and essential Self we finely tune our perceptual antennae acquiring discriminating wisdom and discernment skills. Between us and ourselves are revealed ethical codes, frequencies of soul, guiding new choices through genuine ways of being. This course teaches how to access and recognize True Self through tracking skills, embodiment practices, dyads, journaling, self-reflection, meditation and open discussion. The following example describes why witnessing is necessary when navigating the landscape of our Soul... ...​

The Practice of WitnessingWhat is asking to be seen? Don't fight the sleepiness, the dullness, the lead. Let yourself go under. Just be with it, floating in the sea of mist ~ holding on to nothing ~ just floating. This is enough. Feel your soft rhythmic breath, touching the depth of your awareness ~ sky-like openness. Cast your net into the sea, not knowing what will come of it. There is no force, no insistence, just letting yourself flow with the current. You have full open awareness as you rest in the gentle caress and fluidity of liquid luminosity.

Witnessing begins right here in our own skin. All of our senses are included, inner and outer. Witnessing is a paradox, both local and nonlocal. There is a delicate balance in noticing “it all." Pure witnessing has nothing on it ~ nothing sticks ~ nothing is hidden. From this expansive view, we are seeing things as they are. We are seeing through the distortion all the way into the heart of the matter. Witnessing brings with it precision, like the three C's of a priceless diamond––the cut, the clarity and the color. Through the art of this mystery, we ask our mind to be pristine, cutting through any falsification of the truth. Now we can see into the situation with a clear, open focus.

Discriminating what is or is not wisdom is a practice. It requires that we hold our awareness, attending to the edge of dynamic tension, much like the fusion in nature that forms the diamond. The diamond grows while under the pressure and friction of forces both internal and external. Yet the harder we actually try, the more we block objectivity. In truth, witnessing (without overstepping into tension) opens doors to the bigger picture, bringing insight to what was in plain view but could not yet be seen.

Knowing where we are in relationship to witnessing is an important discernment. To the untrained initiate, the “watcher” and the “witness” can look alike. But these two states are very different, as is also the outcome. By discerning the look-alike activity of the ego's divisive imitation of witnessing, we find that the one who watches is looking only from the head and is personally vested. This watcher of our limited self is the imitator. It uses whatever it sees as fuel, promoting only its own personal interest in a self-centered attempt to get what it wants by forcing its will. This self believes it is the center and controller of the universe. And whether it asserts its will through the grandiosity of being “better than” or “lesser than,” or whether pendulating between both poles, the ego reveals its dual nature and limited identity. The watcher's view is narrow, closed-in as a result of judgment and a ridged stance. Marble eyes protrude, sprung from the acrid defense that is readied below tightened skin and shallow breath, brain stem clenched. The watcher looms in the shadows, shape shifting to avoid being detected by the witness self.

The witness is aware of the watcher, observing its erratic movement in the rat-maze labyrinth engineered by the mind. The witness offers asylum should the watcher fall through the membrane and into the infinite pool of vulnerability, dropping down deep to the dark underside. Here in the pond of awareness, where the unperceivable utterance can be detected, is the penetrating stillness of liquid light, a firmament where the two worlds meet––unconscious and conscious. A splash from above or below breaks through in brief moments to obtain life-giving oxygen. The all-pervasive brilliance penetrates, offering glistening beads along the murky reeds in the soft mud below and illuminating consciousness. A timeless sheen upon the mirror of this infinite horizon frees the lungs. Breath lets go...

Self KnowingEvolving consciousness requires that we develop our capacity for witnessing without getting swallowed in identifying with the sensation, the emotion or the thought. First we must meet what is here but what's here is likely not our True Self. The reaction is nothing more than a learned response. It's the pattern. But all to often one believes that the pattern is who they are. This can be very painful and misleading, entrapping oneself in a never-ending labyrinth of suffering. Or one tries to push it out of the way by negating, suppressing, rejecting or cutting off awareness. Yet the pressure will build demanding our attention eventually. Navigating this fine edge of discernment brings with it tremendous self-awareness and growth. This kind of growth is what is referred to as gnosis. Gnosis or Knowing Thyself is a process we encounter through the various stages of our self- growth. First we hear about a mysterious Light ~ then we begin to see the Light in others ~ next we recognize that this Light is in us ~ finally we have direct experience of the Light. Thus enlightenment is occurring every step of the way! Little by little increasing our capacity to see it and Be it.

Embodied WholenessIn these teachings wholeness requires impeccable truth. It requires that we expose any way we distort reality and the willingness to be responsible for our part in that. The Lataif Training introduces a precise mapping of the essential qualities of our soul. These essences are the very nature of love, and through truth we are able to reconnect with real love, not the ideas or impulses we erringly mistake for love. In growing our tolerance to inhabit what is divinely true can we experience the beatific benevolent compassion, humility, knowing, freedom, and guiding wisdom of our Soul and realize our True Self..​